Batteries

News about Batteries, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 12, 2015

Gadgetwise column; some backpack manufacturers have begun offering backpacks that can allow wearers to charge up mobile devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets using embedded batteries. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Joe Nocera Op-Ed column recommends Steve LeVine book The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World, which describes efforts to produce battery that can replace internal combustion engine in cars; underscores degree to which government is necessarily involved in funding research for new batteries, and why that is necessary and important. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Gadgetwise column; number of companies produce external chargers that can help smartphone and tablet users charge their devices on the go. MORE

Sep. 4, 2014

Governor of Nevada and Tesla Motors plan announcement concerning the construction of battery factory in state; factory would be 10 times larger than any plant now operating, and is intended to achieve a cost reduction of 30 percent; announcement will include representatives from Nevada's state legislature, which will have to act in order to approve subsidy that company is seeking. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Gadgetwise column; wireless charging of mobile devices, while in its nascent stage, is quickly becoming a reality; Wireless Power Consortium and Power Matters Alliance, which has joined up with Alliance for Wireless Power, are competing visions of wireless charging that are trying to gain market share. MORE

Jul. 26, 2014

Syrian rebels are designing rechargeable batteries for shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, development that could make them more lethal against Syrian warplanes; such batteries also carry potential risks for civilian aircraft. MORE

May. 23, 2014

National Transportation Safety Board says tests on lithium-ion batteries for Boeing 787 planes were inadequate, and that new tests should be devised to determine whether batteries with new chemistries are safe for use on airliners. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

Experts say energy storage is crucial to transforming the electrical grid into clean, sustainable low-emissions system, but they note that storage in the form of batteries is years from being feasible; one of the ways to store bulk amounts of energy available at the moment is with cold or heat, using ice or molten salt. MORE

Apr. 12, 2014

Sony warns of potential for batteries to catch fire in some of its new Vaio laptop computers; asks owners to stop using them immediately. MORE

Mar. 25, 2014

Honda and other automakers are using car batteries to store solar electricity to use not just in cars, but in homes, too; Honda is introducing experimental house in environmentally conscious community of Davis, Calif, to showcase technologies that allow dwelling to generate more electricity than it consumes. MORE

Mar. 20, 2014

Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing study finds that major systems on company's 787 Dreamliner jets are safe and well designed, but that federal regulators need to provide more oversight of the far-flung supply networks that are building these and other new planes; study was commissioned following problems with lithium-ion batteries that lead to grounding of the new jets. MORE

Feb. 27, 2014

Tesla Motors says it plans to invest about $2 billion in large-scale factory to produce cheaper batteries for mass-market electric car within three years; indicates it will build factory in Southwest. MORE

Feb. 3, 2014

Tech companies are attempting to address battery life as focus turns to small, wearable devices; advancements in battery technology lag behind as advancements in mobile tech increasingly call for more demands on power consumption. MORE

Jan. 15, 2014

Japan Airlines says one of its 787s vented smoke when a battery failed; Boeing says the problem on a Dreamliner in Tokyo was contained by a new protective system designed to prevent smoke or fire from the volatile ion-lithium batteries from putting a plane at risk. MORE

Jan. 12, 2014

Canadian Tire, country’s leading retailer of automotive and household goods, built pickup truck out of ice as marketing ploy to demonstrate ability of its MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra battery to start a car in subzero temperatures; ice sculpturing company Iceculture created truck. MORE

Dec. 5, 2013

Solar installer SolarCity says a battery system created with Tesla Motors will allow the use of stored electricity in times of highest demand, which would reduce usage at peak periods and associated fees. MORE

Nov. 20, 2013

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, after a third battery fire in a Tesla car in six weeks, says it has started a formal investigation. MORE

Nov. 8, 2013

Federal safety investigators will review accident in Tennessee in which Tesla Model S was destroyed by a fire after its battery was damaged, third such incident in six weeks; accident prompts new questions over the design of company's advanced lithium-ion batteries. MORE

Oct. 4, 2013

Video of Tesla Model S engulfed in flames after a traffic accident sends company's shares tumbling and prompts new questions about safety of lithium-ion batteries in electric cars. MORE

Sep. 19, 2013

Gadgetwise blog; Innovative Technology's Justin Power Case can charge an iPad and other gadgets, including iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices, at the same time. MORE

Aug. 18, 2013

Jack Hitt The Idea column; Meredith Perry has developed prototype of a wireless charger through her firm uBeam; charger transmits electrical power via sound waves. MORE

Jul. 23, 2013

Advertising column; Procter & Gamble's Duracell is introducing its premium Quantum batteries line with a promotion announcing the donation of batteries to firefighters and paramedics. MORE

Jul. 19, 2013

Federal Aviation Administration says it will review recommendations by British authorities to disconnect batteries in the emergency transmitters on all Boeing 787s; British investigators found signs of disruption in transmitter battery on 787 that caught fire at Heathrow Airport. MORE

Jul. 17, 2013

Several large electric utilities, including Con Edison and National Grid, are testing large batteries from Eos Energy Storage; if testing goes well, batteries hold promise of providing affordable energy storage on large scale. MORE

Jul. 13, 2013

Fire breaks out on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner while parked at Heathrow Airport in London; cause of fire is not immediately apparent; investors, already skittish about malfunctioning batteries on model, send Boeing shares down 4.7 percent. MORE

Jun. 24, 2013

If you need to leave the phone’s GPS location services feature turned on all day, you can conserve battery power in other ways. MORE

Jun. 13, 2013

Underwriters Laboratories, after a string of failures on Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, says it is strengthening its lithium-ion battery standards to prevent short circuits that can lead to fire. MORE

Jun. 5, 2013

Strut, a company that makes grills and wheels for luxury cars, recently introduced an elegant charging system for the iPad — one that costs more than the device. MORE

Jun. 5, 2013

Japanese pilots are nervous about whether they will receive enough warnings about any hazards with new battery systems on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner as aircraft returns to skies after being grounded following two incidents involving smoke or fire; Boeing officials acknowledge they have not expanded alerts, but say new system virtually eliminates such risks to plane. MORE

May. 21, 2013

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, after being grounded by battery problems since mid-January, returns to service in United States; United Airlines becomes at least fourth of eight airlines using planes to return them to the air. MORE

May. 20, 2013

MyCharge has introduced the Freedom 2000, a battery case for the iPhone 5 that provides power via a tethered Lightning connector. MORE

May. 8, 2013

The lightweight BoostBloc backup batteries from Etón provide power for mobile devices when electric outlets are lacking. MORE

Apr. 25, 2013

Manufacturers are increasingly looking to enter mobile device market with portable chargers, as solar technology gains in cost and efficiency. MORE

Apr. 24, 2013

Boeing acknowledges, at National Safety Transportation Board hearing , that its original tests of lithium-ion batteries on 787 planes underestimated the risks of fire; hearing's purpose is to determine how Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration could have missed the potential for catastrophic failure and how the plane's manufacturers and regulators can cope with rapidly changing technology in the future. MORE

Apr. 23, 2013

Boeing engineers and technicians begin modifying battery systems of company's 50 grounded 787 Dreamliner jets; team of about 30 technicians begin work in Japan, where All Nippon Airways and Japan Air Lines, biggest operators of Dreamliner, have 24 of the planes between them. MORE

Apr. 22, 2013

The JBL Charge combines an auxiliary battery with an amplifier and speaker in a package about the size of an oversize soda can. MORE

Apr. 20, 2013

Federal Aviation Administration approves Boeing's plan to fix battery malfunction on its troubled 787 airplanes, following three months in which passenger jets have been grounded; move will allow Boeing to resume delivery of planes to airlines and could clear them for return to service within weeks. MORE

Apr. 19, 2013

Federal Aviation Administration is expected to approve Boeing’s plans to fix batteries on its new 787 Dreamliner jets, decision that could soon allow planes to return to service after being grounded for more than three months. MORE

Apr. 6, 2013

Boeing 787 takes flight, months after the airliners were grounded, wrapping up the company's tests of modifications to its lithium-ion batteries and moving closer back into service; Federal Aviation Administration could approve changes by end of April, meaning the planes could be flying again in May. MORE

Mar. 28, 2013

GS Yuasa, maker of battery for Boeing 787 that overheated and led to grounding of fleet, has discovered overheating in its lithium-ion battery for cars. MORE

Mar. 16, 2013

Boeing officials offer first detail for their proposed fixes for lithium-ion batteries aboard 787 planes; changes include better insulation between eight cells in battery, gentler charging to minimize stress and new titanium venting system. MORE

Mar. 15, 2013

Boeing executives expect commercial flights of company’s troubled 787 Dreamliner jet to resume within weeks, announcing that company is fully confident that it has eliminated all risk of fire or smoke from its batteries; defends its use of the volatile lithium-ion technology. MORE

Mar. 14, 2013

Evaluations that Boeing conducted while its new 787 jet was in development proved to be far off the mark in predicting what would happen when the plane was in use, and led company to severely underestimate likelihood of a fire in plane's battery; federal officials say it is crucial that Boeing collect better data this time on newly approved laboratory and flight tests. MORE

Mar. 13, 2013

Federal Aviation Administration approves Boeing's plan to test fixes for battery problems that have grounded its 787 jets; decision is major step for aircraft maker and its efforts to get innovative plane back in air. MORE

Mar. 9, 2013

Problems with battery in Boeing's technologically advanced 787 jet delays plans to offer advanced features that allow for extended flight plans to any airport around the world without stopping; Boeing estimates delayed technology allowing 330 minutes of flight will create 450 new routes. MORE

Mar. 8, 2013

Report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board reveals most comprehensive picture so far of January battery fire aboard Boeing 787 in Boston, but does not provide details about the cause of the fire. MORE

Mar. 7, 2013

Federal Aviation Administration is close to approving tests of Boeing's approach to fixing batteries on its 787 jets, and tests could begin soon; FAA could still demand changes in proposed design if problems develop. MORE